Dualism

<p><strong>Jonathan Knox</strong> is one of the country’s most sought-after management consultants not least for his uncanny skill at intuiting the solution hidden in the noise. Blessing though it may be to his clients Knox’s so-called pattern-matching ability began as a curse born of a nightmarish long-ago bad trip. Even after all these years flashbacks still haunt his dreams. Or did until recently when something new came into his life: For through no fault of his own Knox has blundered into a relationship with —</p><p><strong>Marianna Bonaventure</strong> an Energy Department agent charged with keeping track of nuclear proliferation risks … from behind a desk. Her only foray into fieldwork so far was the mission where she first teamed with Jon Knox the one where they’d … well between the two of them they’d sort of saved the world. Now she’s on another case with Jon investigating the disappearance of billionaire Davoud Ansari’s daughter Fatimah. It’s far less earth-shattering than last time she thinks but weird all the same especially since their co-investigator is —</p><p><strong>Nietzsche</strong> an artificial intelligence built by Ansari’s company Psyche Industries. Nietzsche may be the first machine in the world to attain consciousness albeit at a terrible price. But Nietzsche is also a machine with a secret agenda — one involving the kidnapping investigation he is conducting with Knox and Marianna. Yet not even Nietzsche suspects that the real danger will only emerge once they’ve cracked the case and brought Fatimah safely home.</p><p><strong>Hamza Nassiri </strong>is the author of that danger: A deep-cover agent for Iran’s feared Quds Force posing as Psyche Industries’ security chief Hamza is laboring in secret to undermine the MERGE an intelligence analysis capability of unthinkable power. Before it comes on line he must use Fatimah Ansari to bring down MERGE and the country along with it.</p>